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Helping to secure a sustainable future for Capgemini’s business

Simon Hodge writes about Capgemini's sustainability programme:

A sustainability policy is a big feature of many companies and organisations today, and Capgemini is no exception. Consumer pressure, government legislation and a growing realisation that sustainability can make companies stronger and more profitable are combining to make sustainability essential in the 21^st century business environment. It is this third point that is my main role during my current project with Capgemini’s sustainability team – I am identifying the savings that Capgemini can make and the extra revenue we can generate by being sustainable.

There are two key parts. The first is the idea that wasted resources are also wasted money. Capgemini used to use 1.7 million plastic cups each year. We stopped, and bought reusable plastic beakers instead, on the basis that it would save a lot of plastic from going to landfill. But it also saved us tens of thousands of pounds each year. By opting for a disposable rather than reusable option, we had been, in a very real sense, throwing money away. It was such a simple change to make, but by doing it we helped both the environment and our balance sheet. When this logic is applied to areas like electricity, paper, water and so on, the financial and environmental benefits can be huge.

Secondly, it’s about clients. Public and private sector organisations increasingly expect the partners that they work with to take sustainability seriously. In some cases the role it plays can immense – in 2009, for example, Capgemini won a huge contract with a government agency on the back of its ability to offer them the most sustainable IT contract in government. The systems that Capgemini used for this contract were so energy efficient that we were not only able to offer the strong sustainability credentials, but also big cost savings. Embracing sustainability has not only been good for the environment and the communities we work in: it has brought big benefits to Capgemini and our clients.